Bad Timing

I take a deep breath as I fold my hands over one another. I am currently standing in the middle of the very same room that started my journey here at Kamar-Taj. In front of me is the Ancient One while surrounding me are the high masters of Kamar-Taj. I have not had a lot of time interacting with these old masters that hide themselves in the shadows of Kamar-Taj but I can tell that they are powerful. Certainly as strong as my master since he too sits amongst their ranks. However since I am his direct disciple he can not make any decisions or direct interactions in this meeting. All he could do is present to the council his pupil and accept the outcome of rather I would be accepted as a master of the mystic arts or not.

"Disciple SīChóu, why don't you take a seat? You look like your nerves are on fire." The Ancient One gestures for me towards the chair that materialized next to me. Wait, has it just appeared out of nowhere or was it there the entire time? I nod my head and sat down while trying to calm down my nerves. I don't know why I'm so nervous. I should be alright since there hasn't been another explosion from my room any time recently and I've been doing pretty well right? Right Ned?

"I assume we all know the reason for today's meeting." The Ancient One looks around the room as she reads the faces of the masters. "We are here to discuss the graduation of Ned from an advanced disciple into a proper master of Kamar-Taj. Now before we debate on his actual advancement. I want us to discuss his merits and the conditions he had accomplished to qualify for this position. Master Kaecilius, since you are his master and the one who recommended him into the position of a masters. Why don't you share with everyone the advancements your student has made?"

Master Kaecilius looks as calm as he usually does as he stands up from his chair. He slowly make his way over to me before resting a hand on my shoulder. "As many of you know. I am not a man of many students. I don't take in what I don't believe is worth my time. Now yes. From the beginning, it was I who brought disciple Ned into the fold of Kamar-Taj. Back then I had no intentions of bringing Ned under my wings as a personal student but rather to itch a curiosity. See not all of you know of my interactions with Ned before he arrived here. And to keep the story short, he was skilled and talented enough to snatch my sling ring and lured me away in order to attract my attention. It was then during my confrontation that he revealed to me about his knowledge of Kamar-Taj and his curiosity of the mystic arts. From there on I'm sure you all know his story here at Kamar-Taj. First he was the only student we have had in centuries that had yet to reach the double digits in age before joining us. Secondly he is also the only student we have that showed almost no promise in the practicality of magic but yet is so gifted with the comprehension of such magic that it is almost frightening. It is the opinion of mine and the Ancient One that if Ned here, had never have helped his classmates during his first couple of months here. I don't think we would have seen the rapid growth progress amongst the students here. Many of which are under your very own guidance or the guidance of your very own personal students. I would even dare to say that some of you might have never even noticed the talents of your students if it weren't for Ned."

Master Kaecilius pauses as he looks around the room of masters. "Ned has achieved many accomplishments in the four years that he has been here. From creating a new category of magic study solely based on relics to the destruction of many demonic nests throughout the nearby dimensions and to even giving us modern technology." Master Kaecilius looks towards me to let out a small chuckle and a smile before continuing. "In short, he has accomplished more in less than half of a decade than what many had done in the last century. I, along with many of you have been here for decades and we have all stuck to the traditions passed down to us from the Ancient One and generations that came before. Perhaps we are to blame for not keeping up with the times and the mortal world. Perhaps even with the blessings of the Sorcerer Supreme, many of us were too afraid to break the mold and create new traditions to pass down. Now if we allow for young Ned to become a master and join our ranks. Then I am certain we can achieve the goals of the great Agomotto and the generations before us and allow for the next generation of sorcerers to be stronger and better than us. Times are changing and if we do not wish to be the last generation of sorcerers then we must allow for the next generation to grow under our protection and expand out of the box that we ourselves had grown too comfortable in."

I raise my eyebrows slightly as I look at my master. Really? You like that I create chaos in the name of progress? Heh well well I guess I'll just have to keep at it then. I turn my gaze towards the Ancient One and I can see a little smirk on her face as she quickly conceals it by taking a sip of her tea. Goddamn bro! Just how many liters of tea does she consume in a single day? This is like what? Maybe cup number 6 and it's only a little after noon.

"Calling what we do as an act of cowardliness is sacrilege to the traditions of this establishment. Kaecilius, just how do you think our seniors survived until they passed the mantles and roles of masters down to us?" Master Kian spoke up as the debate began. "Do you expect us to just roll over and give the children the reins of how this school is run? Surely you have not gotten soft over the years simply because you had adopted a child." What the fuck dude! I narrow my eyes towards Master Kian. I don't think I have ever seen him before or maybe I did but just never noticed but what the fuck man. Are we really going through this again?

"Master Kian, I suggest you choose your next words wisely. For I will not take your slandering against me nor my student lightly. We are here to debate on the graduation of Xu SīChóu Chù. Not talk trash like children on the street." Master Kaecilius gives Master Kian a glare sharp enough to cut through steel before turning his attention towards the Sorcerer Supreme. "I believe my work here is done. I rest my case and I hope that today a new student will rise up and join the rank of masters." Master Kaecilius respectfully bowed towards the Ancient One before returning back to his seat. Once he finally sits back down it seems like he's still glaring at master Kian but with a little less emotion…which I don't know if that's better or worse.

"Master Kaecilius, while I do respect the efforts and breakthroughs your student had made and brought to Kamar-Taj. I don't believe he should be granted the rank of a master simply because of his age. How many of us can say that we were mature enough at his age to run a class and teach new students how to use magic and survive? How many of us are willing to give the responsibility of the future apprentices to a student who has yet to see his eleventh birthday?" Master Kian scoft a little as he glares back at my master.

"Master Kian, have we not already given Ned the responsibility of teaching and protecting our students? Is teaching a successful class of students not a requirement for us to even be here today? Even before he became an apprentice. When he was still a novice, he was already helping his fellow students comprehend the complexity of magic. By helping them take the first step towards sorcery he had already pushed their potentials higher than before." A familiar voice brought a smile to my face as I turned to look towards him.

"Master Mordo, he was just lucky back then. Ned knew that if he had not figured out a way to cling on and provide a good reason for us to keep him here. Then he was going to be thrown back out into the streets. What other reasons did we allow for him to go through three novice classes if not to test whether he had been an influence on his classmates' success or not. Now I will not deny the fact that he was the reason why those two classes became some of the highest passing classes in our history. But anyone could learn sorcery. And given enough time, anyone can be skilled enough to become an official apprentice." Master Kian shifted his eyes from Kaecilius to Mordo then finally back to me.

"It is as you said 'given enough time'. Had we not given Ned the time and opportunity to prove himself worthy of Kamar-Taj and the knowledge stored here. We would have never experienced this boon of progress and development. Now I too was cautious about bringing modern technology into the walls of Kamar-Taj but now look at us. We are all much happier to finally get to enjoy music once more. If you need any recommendations Kian don't be afraid to ask me, your old pal. Since obviously you have lost your touch with the youth and the music of recent times." Master Mordo cracks open a smirk while staring at Master Kian.

"Now now enough with the novice students and what ifs. I want to discuss about his merits and mission accomplishments. Specifically his war crimes and obsessively commiting genocide while on these missions away from Earth. I don't think we should allow someone of his nature to become a master if he is not willing to look at the bigger picture. At the very least until he can comprehend the powers he held and the responsibility of being a master. We as sorcerers protect Earth and the fine balance we stand on within the grand scheme of the multiverse. We are not killers or destroyers, only defenders and keepers of peace. It is not our duty to judge whether something is evil or good, we are to simply protect Earth and her people. Nothing more. Nothing less." This time Master Ying finally spoke up. She too is another master I don't see really often. I think she's the one in charge of logistics and mission distributions or something. I don't really know.

"Well he certainly has completed some of his missions at the highest level of execution and record breaking speed. I don't believe we have ever in the history of Kamar-Taj tried to advocate for demonic entities. Did you forget about the very reasons for these missions Master Ying? We protect not just Earth but also monitor the nearby weak points of our dimension that intersect with other dimensions." Master Wong finally joins in the conversation. "The missions that you claim to be crimes against life are missions where we send our students to exterminate demon nests to manageable levels."

"Manageable levels does not mean total and complete annihilation. What rights does Ned have, to not only eradicate the nest of demons but also cripple a quarter of the continent and the native species's ability to survive. He wields powers so destructive and dangerous that if he is left unchecked, I am afraid we just might be the last generation of sorcerers here." Master Ying tried to drown me in fear as she glared at me with some pretty intense eyes. However I can't help but scratch my head and return a look of confusion as I make eye contact with her. I slowly raise my hand as if I'm still a child sitting in class. "Permission to speak, Ancient One."

"Permission granted, Ned." The Sorcerer Supreme wraps her hand around her cup before gently blowing on it. Soon a faint steam slowly rising from the cup as she warms up her tea.

"Master Ying, I know you and I have not had a lot of interactions before so I think I can understand why you are so apprehensive about my methods. But may I ask why you are bringing up my mission on Ergenekon? My purpose for that mission was to eliminate the demonic population down to a manageable level for the locals to handle it themselves. Did I not bring down the population to a manageable level?"

"Ned, what you did was more than just bringing the population down to a manageable level. If the explosion you had set off was any bigger than it already was, you would have caused an extinction event to occur in Ergenekon. I don't want to chastise you for completing your mission. I want to chastise you for causing more harm than good for the people and deities of Ergenekon. Even after reading your report for the mission I still don't understand how you caused an explosion of that scale." Master Ying flips through a notebook in front of her. "The power you possess is too dangerous for yourself if you can't understand its destructive capabilities."

"Oh no I understand my powers perfectly Master Ying." I stand up from my chair as I begin to walk around and slowly look at each and every masters present. "I did what I had to do to save the lives of my team members and to protect the people of Ergenekon. If I had just eliminated the bare minimum that we are required to do so. Then after two months another squad of disciples would be sent to their deaths once more. And yes. I do understand that Ergenekon is a realm for us to hone our skills and master ourselves. But if that is the purpose, then why do we send such small and inadequate teams each time? If our purpose is to truly protect the people and weak points of that realm in relation to ours then why stop at the bare minimum? Why do we send so many advanced students to their deaths just so the lucky few can come out stronger? And most importantly. Why are we so afraid of the gods that rule over Ergenekon if they can't even handle a couple million demons by themselves?" I take a deep breath to try and calm myself as the memories of death and sorrow floods my mind. "I know what I did and I am not afraid to use my powers once more if the situation calls for it. I have lost one squad before and I will never let anyone else die anymore. Not if I can do anything about it."

"Well said, Ned. Now that is the type of response I expect from a master of Kamar-Taj. If you can't bear the responsibility of spilling blood in the name of protecting your people and the balance of the multiverse, then you don't belong in the rank of masters. Ancient One. I believe we have covered everything as planned and all that remains is the votes of masters." Master Ying turns to bow towards the Ancient One. The principal of the school sets down her now empty cup before looking around the room.

"All in favor of voting against disciple Ned from graduating into a master, say Nay." Master Kian and a few other masters join him as they verbally declare their opinions. "Now all in favor of disciple Ned graduating into a master, say Yay." To my surprise almost everyone in the room agreed for my promotion to that of a master, even including Master Ying. However, I can't help but have a look of contemplation and conflict on my face because I have something important I need to say before all of this comes to a conclusion. Huhhhh. SIGH.

"Ned, you seem troubled. Is there something on your mind you wish to discuss later?" The Ancient One tries to read my face as I try to unfurl my eyebrows.

I can't help but crack a little smile of embarrassment before clearing my throat. AHEM "Uh yes there is Ancient One. I ah well. I didn't know how I would want to bring it up to you and Master Kaecilius but I guess now is as good as ever. I uh I don't want to become a master." I can feel my cheeks start to burn bright red as the room erupts into an uproar. I can sense the laser beams of eyes from all the masters suddenly burn straight through my soul.